A Jedi's Secret
by JenthGrek710
Summary: Jedi Knight, Judy Grek, has just become the general for a clone company. While they are still getting used to each other, the troops learn that she still keeps in touch with her adopted father, and they are eager to meet him. However, Judy's not as eager as they thought she would be. They'll find out why when they accompany her to a remote planet to meet him.
1. Chapter 1

Four steps forward, four steps back, and so on. Judy Grek paced in front of the boarding ramp of her ship, the _MIDNIGHT FLIGHT_. She was waiting for her Master to return from talking with the Jedi High Council. The Clone Wars had been going on for a couple months now, and now that she was a Jedi Knight, she wanted to do her part for the Republic. She had requested to be a general for a clone company that would be in charge of reinforcements and special missions. Her Master had gone to discuss it with the Council, and now she was just waiting for him to return with the news.

Judy continued to pace around the Jedi Temple's hangar floor. It wasn't that she was impatient; she would wait all day if she had to. She just liked the sound of her boots thudding against the floor with every step. Just when she was about to stop pacing for fear of wearing a hole through the floor, she sensed her Master enter the hangar. The Knight turned towards the entrance and saw her mentor, Master Gemwic Kato, stride up to her. She bowed to him as he reached her.

"Hello again Master," she greeted him. He bowed back to her before replying.

"Hello my former Padawan. I have discussed with the Council your request to partake in the war. They have agreed to let you command a company of clones. You'll be on call for missions, reinforcements, and things of that nature." She smiled and bowed to him once more.

"Thank you, Master. I promise I won't disappoint you or the Council with this decision."

"I should hope not, but you haven't disappointed me before, so I'm not worried. It's a good thing you requested such a position when you did. A new group of clones just got deployed and are in need of a general. Since your request was so well-timed, you've been assigned to them. Would you like to meet them?"

"Of course Master."

He told her, "All right then. They're waiting at the landing strip in the cruiser, _DEVOTION_. Would you care to take the _FLIGHT_ to the landing strip?"

"You know I would love to," she returned, smiling with a gleam in her chocolate eyes that Kato knew all too well.

"Then let's be on our way." He walked up the ramp with his former apprentice at his side. Once in the cockpit, Judy sat herself in the pilot's seat with Kato as her copilot. They started up the ship, and once they got clearance, took off from the Temple to one of Coruscant's landing strips. When safely in the air, the Knight set her ship to autopilot after setting the nav computer and faced her Master as he spoke.

"Before I came down to tell you of the news, I contacted the troops to tell them of their new general. Council's request. They wanted me to prepare them for what they will probably encounter with you in command."

"You say that like I would be a troublesome general Master. Does the Council not trust me?" she asked sarcastically. He chuckled and smoothed down his black and grey beard.

"No Judy. They trust you. It's just that all clones need a fair warning before meeting their commanding officers. How do you think the 501st would've felt if they were assigned to Anakin with no warning?" She laughed.

"I guess the heads up was a good thing there. But that's not to say Anakin's a bad general. He's just… energetic." Kato agreed with her. "So, what did you tell them about me, if I may ask?"

"Oh, the usual info. How you came to the Temple at fourteen when I took you on as my Padawan. How you are quite skilled in making and using a lightsaber. A few other things I thought they should know." She looked out the viewport, her smile dimming a little at her next inquiry.

"Did you tell them about Dad?" Master Kato glanced over at his former apprentice.

"No, I didn't. I figured that if you wanted them to know, you would tell them yourself."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Judy was a very rare Jedi. She was adopted when she was young and had been raised by a single father. He knew of her Force-abilities and encouraged them, mostly. When she figured it was time for her to go to the Jedi Temple, he reluctantly let her go. They had kept in touch since Gemwic accepted her as his apprentice. They would see each other every now and then on her meditation retreats and call each other as often as possible. Only a couple family friends and her Master knew of her and her father. They had decided that it would be easier on everyone if their relationship was kept quiet.

"_Who knows what awful things could happen if the wrong person found out about us?_" she thought to herself. She then took the _MIDNIGHT FLIGHT_ off of autopilot and started to land it inside the Republic cruiser's hangar. Once the landing gear touched down, she put down the boarding ramp and followed her Master to the hangar floor.


	2. Chapter 2

As they walked out of the _FLIGHT_, she asked, "How many troops are under my command?"

"A whole company. That's about 165 troopers: 144 troops, 16 sergeants, 4 lieutenants, all under the command of you and your captain. You're first meeting your captain, head medic, and the ordnances expert. The rest of your troops are throughout the cruiser for you to meet afterwards."

"All right then." She followed him through the hangar, passing many troops working on the starships or just wandering around the cruiser. He led her over to three troopers, who stood waiting for their arrival.

He called, "Hello troops."

The one to the far left returned, "Greetings Sir."

"You all ready to meet your new general?"

"Yes Sir," they all answered simultaneously.

"Then, I'd like you all to meet Jedi Knight, and General, Judy Grek." She stepped over to the other side of her Master, stopping directly in front of the soldiers. She smiled at each of them.

"Hello," Judy greeted. They didn't answer her. She could sense the three of them looking at her. The two troops to the right were observing her, storing her appearance to memory. The soldier on the left, however, seemed… almost lost in thought as he stared at her. She rose a brow at them and asked, "Everything all right guys?" The trooper in the middle turned to the troop who had first spoken and jabbed him with his elbow. Once he got his brother's attention, he gestured for him to say something.

He replied, "Uh, everything's fine General."

"You sure?"

"Yes General." She frowned at that remark. She had asked to be the general of a clone company, and yet, the title seemed to bother her. Judy put it to the back of her mind for the moment, thinking she would get used to it later.

"All right. Would you guys mind taking off your helmets? I want to see your faces." Rather reluctantly, the three of them took off their helmets, revealing similar faces.

"With all due respect General," the middle trooper started, "there's nothing much to see. We're clones. We have the same face." She smiled again as she looked at them. There was no doubt to her that they were a handsome bunch. The trooper who had first spoken looked like the average soldier with lightly tanned skin, short-cut black hair, and golden honey eyes. Yet, his small smile captured her attention longer than it should have. Judy didn't know what it was, but there was something special in his smile that she liked.

The middle trooper, unlike his brothers, didn't have any hair at all. Though he didn't have hair, he did have an unusually-shaped scar under his left eye. It almost appeared to be in the shape of an X. The Knight's curiosity took hold of her for a moment, making her wonder how he got the scar and if it still hurt him. She resisted the urge to ask him for the moment and turned slightly to look at the third troop.

The man to the far right appeared very much like the first: tan skin, black hair, and golden eyes. On closer inspection, she caught sight of his clone number tattooed on his neck. She also picked up on a soft tapping noise. She glanced down and saw his foot tapping. At first, Judy thought he was a tad restless, but then she noticed that he was tapping to a specific beat. A familiar song she couldn't place the name of at the moment. She smiled at the three of them again.

"I don't think you guys have the exact same face. Similar, but not exactly the same. That goes for you guys as individuals too. You all are similar to each other in that you look alike, have the same battle skills, and most of the same knowledge. However, you have different styles and personalities. Like the way you cut your hair, or your lack of hair." She grinned at the second soldier. He smiled and quietly chuckled. She continued, "The tattoos you get, the way you design your armor, your names. Even the way you do things makes you different. So, in my eyes, you're not clones. You're brothers, and I can't wait to get to know you all." They glanced at each other and all smiled brightly. Master Kato grinned and laughed.

He then bade, "That's your general for you. Well, I believe I'll leave you all to your matters. I, and the Council, expect a report on how you all are getting along in the next two weeks. Hope everything goes well Judy." They turned to each other and bowed.

"I'll have the report ready for you, Master. Thank you, and may the Force be with you."

"May the Force be with you as well my former Padawan. Farewell troopers. May the Force be with you."

"May the Force be with you too Sir," the first soldier returned. Gemwic nodded then headed out of the hangar to return to the Temple. Once he had departed, Judy faced her troops again, her smile widening.

"So then, would you all mind telling me your names and ranks?" she requested.

"CC-0714, General. I'm the captain of this unit," the smiling trooper introduced.

"CT-03-0918. Ordnances expert," the scarred brother added.

"CT-19-2120. Head medical official," the tattooed soldier finished. She nodded, placing faces with ranks in her memory. Though, once that was done, her smile dimmed to a frown.

"Thank you, but what are your names?" she asked once again. The captain's smile also disappeared at her question. He looked to his brothers then back to his general.

"We don't have names yet General."

"Really? Well, everyone needs a name. Mind if I help you guys get yours?" The captain was a bit taken aback at her request. Typically, the troopers would come up with their own names, or their brothers would find one for them. He didn't know of any commanding officer, much less a Jedi, who helped any of their troopers find their names. He definitely didn't know of any who even wanted to help them with their names. He was about to tell her of this when he remembered that she was now his general, and if she wanted to give it a shot, he shouldn't deny her the chance.

"If you would like General," he answered. He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw eagerness in her eyes as her smile returned as bright as before.

"Thank you. Also, you don't have to call me 'general' right now. We're not in battle, or discussing battle, or anything like that. We're getting to know each other, so you can call me 'Judy'. Please." This Jedi just kept surprising him. Calling his CO by her first name was definitely against regulations. Formal titles had been drilled into his and his brothers' heads since their training started, so calling her by her name was completely foreign to them. A glance at the troops beside him told him that they were thinking the same thing. The other thing that surprised him was that it was a request for them to call her by her name, not an order. She was asking them to use her name, which meant they didn't have to if they didn't want to. That was also a bit foreign to them.

"_But if that's what she wants,_" he thought, "_we should oblige. It's going to take some time to get used to._" He told, "We'll… try Gen- Judy." It didn't seem right to him. It seemed inappropriate and sounded weird coming out of his mouth. "_Might take more time than I thought._"

"That's all I could ask for. Thank you. Well, now that you are all familiar with my name, why don't we try to find out yours?" The three hesitantly nodded. She looked over at her new captain, her smile small but encouraging. "Your names are usually a reflection of your personality, or something you do or have done. Am I right?"

"That's usually how our brothers get their names, yes," he answered.

"Well then, would you mind telling me a bit about yourself? What's something you're good at? What are some things you like to do in your spare time?" 0714 needed a moment to think about that.

"Uh, we don't usually have very much spare time Ge-" he quietly winced before correcting himself, "Judy. Whenever I do find some spare time, I usually do what the rest of us do: exercise, go to the archives, a few other things…"

"Hm… Okay. Then, what's something you're good at? Something you're better at than your brothers."

"Well… I'm told quite often that I'm good at geology, geostrategy, geography, things like that."

"It's partly what makes him a good captain," 2120 noted. "All of that geo- stuff comes in handy when making battle plans and surviving in unknown territory. Not many of us in the company know as much as he does on those sorts of things." He looked into her eyes as she turned back to him. He had seen many eyes in his lifetime, and her eyes were like none he had ever seen before. They were brown like his, only hers were darker, similar to the color of caf. They sparkled in the light, and he could read her emotions through her eyes like a data file. They were… nice… beautiful even. He came out of his thoughts as he read the excitement that suddenly ignited in her eyes.

"Geo- stuff, huh? Then… how about Geo? Captain Geo." He tested it out in his head.

"_Geo. That's… pretty good. Seems fitting, sounds good… I like it._" He smiled at her again and voiced his thoughts. "I like it. Captain Geo. Thank you, Judy." Saying her name was still a bit weird, but at least he had called her by her name that time. The shine in her eyes seemed to intensify with joy as she too noticed that he used her name without correcting himself.

"I'm glad you like it. I think it suits you." After receiving a slight nod from Geo, she turned her attention to the trooper next to him. "Mind if I try you now?"

"Not at all Gener- uh… Judy. Try all you like. Though there's not going to be much to go off of. Except for weapons, there's nothing I really know more of than anyone else here. I do the same things my brothers do in my spare time as well." He saw a look of contemplation overcome her face. 0918 wasn't really expecting her to be able to come up with a name for him. It was unexpected but nice of her to try, and she had done pretty well with his brother, but he just didn't think she'd be able to do it again for him. He then saw her eyes flick down to his scar for just a second, but it was enough for him to see. A small grin came across his lips. "Wondering how I got my scar?"

For a moment, the contemplation on her face turned to surprise, and then it faded to an apology as she wordlessly nodded. It was his turn to be surprised, but he didn't show it. The apology in her expression wasn't there because she pitied him that she felt sorry for him. It was there because she was sorry she had been caught looking at it, because she'd thought it was a rather sore subject in that it might have still hurt him or hurt him to talk about it. This gained her a bit more of respect from him before he went on to explaining himself.

"It was a training accident back on Kamino. While the guys of my platoon and of another one in the company were trying to hold off some of the training dummies, I led some of the other troops into the middle of the crossfire. Towards the end of the battle, one of the droids malfunctioned and started to attack me with the intent to actually kill me instead of stun me, like they were supposed to do. Tackled me to the ground and whacked me pretty good a couple of times before 2120 here could destroy the thing and get it off of me. That's how I got my scar. And no, it doesn't hurt too much anymore." He noticed another transformation in her features as the apology turned to relief.

"Wow. I'm glad you're all right… Crossfire," the Knight proposed with a hint of finality in her statement. This time, the trooper let the shock he felt show. After giving it a try or two, he smiled and gave her an approving nod.

"Very nice. Good job and thank you." He had been wrong about her. That was one time when he didn't mind being wrong though.

"You're welcome." She then looked over at 2120, determination written all over her face. Since she had given two of them names, she wasn't going to rest until their brother had a name as well. "Now, we come to you."

"I'm afraid you may have a bit of a hard time on my name. There's not really much to go off of for me either as far as knowledge or hobbies go. And I don't have much of an exciting backstory to tell." He didn't even try to address her by her title or her name. He figured it would just be easier to not address her at all until he could wrap his mind around using her name.

"We'll see about that. I'm sure there's something I could figure out for you." She looked him over again, seeing if there was anything in his appearance that could be the basis for his name. She stopped at his eyes and felt her jaw drop about an inch or two.

"Wow… Your eyes…" She trailed off there for a moment as she continued to stare at his eyes. For a moment, the medic got a bit self-conscious. Was there something wrong with his eyes? Before he could voice his concerns, she went on. "They have a very handsome sparkle to them…" she mused. Crossfire barely suppressed a chuckle at her comment. His brow rose, and he looked at his new general as though he were questioning her sanity, which he probably was at the moment.

"They do?" he asked rather skeptically. Either not noticing or not minding the skepticism in his voice, she nodded and smiled.

"They do. Your eyes shine so bright, I bet they could light up a star. … And I think that that's a great name for you."

"What is?" He was almost scared to find out what she had thought of for him. If it was about his 'shining eyes', he wasn't so sure on how good it would sound.

"Starlighter," Judy told. Now, both of his brows were raised in the look of astonishment that pasted itself onto the medic's face. Giving it a bit of thought, it hadn't really sounded as bad as he was preparing for.

"_It actually sounds pretty good. I… like it. I do. I like it._" Whether it was based off of his 'shining eyes' or not, the name seemed to suit him. "I think that that is a great name. Thank you very much."

"You're welcome. You guys see? Your names each represent something special about you, things that make you different. I'd like to ask you guys that while I'm your general, you never think that you're just another clone. You're not just one of a million others who are exactly like you. You are unique individuals just like everyone else. And I can't wait to get to know you more in our time together." The three brothers looked at each other, all beaming brightly. Turning back to her, they nodded.

"Of course Judy," they replied simultaneously.

"Thank you. I'm sorry to leave after that, but I have a whole company to meet. I'd love to meet up with you guys later though. Would it be all right for me to join you at dinner?"

Starlighter confirmed, "It'd be more than all right. We'd love to have you join us for dinner Judy."

"Thank you. Until then, may the Force be with you." She bowed to the three of them as she had bowed to her Master earlier.

"May the Force be with you as well," Geo bade as he and his brothers saluted her. She giggled as she turned to leave. Now that she got them to use her name, Judy would probably have to do something about them saluting her later. The troopers put their arms back at their sides and watched her as she walked to another part of the hangar. Starlighter was the first to speak.

"Master Kato wasn't kidding when he said that she wasn't like most Jedi."

"No doubt there," Crossfire concurred. "I've not heard of many generals or Jedi offering to help their troopers with their names, much less follow through with it. And I definitely don't hear about any of our brothers calling their CO by their name."

Captain Geo noted, "I don't know any general who is determined to have us think that we're each unique, except for Judy. She truly believes we're each our own person, one of a kind, and she wants us to believe it too." His brothers simply nodded in response. The three soldiers then left the hangar to play a quick hologame or two, for once, very eager for dinnertime to come.


	3. Author's Note

Hello again. Sorry for all of the notes. I just wanted to say that I'm totally winging it and creating a new chapter despite my computer problems. I'm trying to the best of my abilities to do so, and will probably have a new chapter up by the end of this week. Thank you all for your patience.

Here's a little challenge for anyone who wishes to partake in it. Keep things a little interesting until I can get my computer fixed and update the story.

Look at my troopers' clone numbers. Now look at their names. Notice any correlation? A most sincere congratulations for those who figure it out and tell me.

Oh! Also, if any of you guys want an extra chapter of sorts, I had one in mind. Basically, a chapter concerning what happens after Judy meets with her captain, medic, and ordinances expert. It would tell of many other troopers she meets between the time she left the hangar to when she meets up with the guys in the mess hall, explaining how some of them get/got their names. If anyone wants me to post it, I'd be happy to oblige.

So, until I get that next chapter up, I hope everyone can be patient with me for just a little longer. Thank you. MTFBWY

J.G. 710


	4. Chapter 3

**My computer's finally fixed! Ah! Finally! So, here's that new chapter for you. I'm going to work on it a little more, but I'm posting what I have now, because I promised you all a new chapter. Here it is! I hope you all enjoy, and hopefully there will be no more computer problems in the future. J.G. 710**

* * *

A couple hours later, Captain Geo, Crossfire, and Starlighter walked into the _DEVOTION_'s mess hall to grab some dinner. The mess wasn't completely full since most troopers were out preparing the cruiser for its first departure from Coruscant or claiming their rooms with their brothers. Though, as the three troops passed by the few who were present in the cafeteria, they could hear many different conversations concerning their new general.

"Man, Judy is really cool. I can't believe we lucked out getting her as our general," CT-16-1005 told his brother, CT-23-0126.

"That was really nice of her to volunteer to think up names for us," CT-03-0205 commented. CT-04-1604 nodded in agreement.

"And they're awesome names at that! She seems to have a real knack for that." Geo, Starlighter, and Crossfire all smiled as they took their seats. They listened to a few other conversations from their brothers before the medic started one of their own.

"You think Judy will remember that she wanted to join us for dinner?" At that moment, the mess hall door slid open, and the young Jedi Knight stepped into the room.

"Guess that answers that," Crossfire replied with a smirk. A couple of the other troopers in the room called out greetings to their new general. She smiled and waved to them all before gathering a lunch for herself and walking over to the tables.

"Hey guys," she greeted the captain, medic, and ordinances expert.

"Hello Judy," they returned as she sat beside Geo.

"Enjoy your time around the _DEVOTION_?" Starlighter asked her.

"Definitely. I met a lot of your wonderful brothers. They're all really nice, and I can't wait to get to know them better. But right now, I'm happy to be with you guys."

"Well thank you," Crossfire praised. "We're happy you're here too."

"Thanks. So, what have you all been up to since I last saw you?"

The captain answered, "Not much honestly. We're just waiting for your orders. Have any news on what our first mission is?"

"Not yet, but I'm going to talk to the Jedi Council soon after we leave Coruscant's atmosphere. We'll know what our mission is then."

"All right."

"Hey Judy," Starlighter called, "I was wondering something. You were asking us earlier what we like to do in our spare time. Now, I'm kinda wondering the same about you. What do you do in your free time?" The general gave him a smile before responding.

"I like to read whenever I get the time, and there are some holovids I've always loved to watch when I could. I like to help people, and talk with my friends and family."

"Family? Last I checked: a family was made up of people you're closely attached to. Isn't attachment against Jedi regulations or something?"

"It is, but I'm not a typical Jedi. I wasn't brought to the Temple when I was a baby, and my teaching was a bit on the unorthodox side?"

"How so?" Geo asked.

"Well, like I said earlier, I wasn't brought to the Temple when I was a baby, like most Force-sensitive children are. I was abandoned by my parents the day I was born. Since the medics didn't exactly know what to do with me, they kept me around until they could figure out what to do. A couple weeks after I was born, Akryce Almez came to the medical station to visit his cousin, and he overheard some medics talking about me. Akryce worked for the 'Orphan Hall', a C-3 passenger liner used to house orphaned children until they were adopted. He took me there and there I stayed until I was eight.

"But before I left, soon after I turned four, I discovered my abilities with the Force, and I started to train myself until I could get to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Years went by after this, and I turned eight. No one would even think about adopting me, so I didn't have to worry about a family at the time. I thought that I had to explore the galaxy and actually get out of the ship so that I could further my training. So, I snuck out of the 'Orphan Hall'.

"For the next six years, I traveled across the galaxy. I made a lot of friends, and a number of people I met kind of unofficially adopted me. Excluding my birth parents, I've got two fathers, two mothers, five uncles, two aunts, a cousin, and six brothers. Unless you count you guys, then I have more brothers than I could ever hope to count.

"Anyway, on my fourteenth birthday, I thought I was finally ready to go to the Jedi Temple. I traveled there and prepared to talk to the Council about me becoming a Padawan. Master Kato answered when I came up to the door. He explained to me how Jedi were normally trained and explained that the Council probably wouldn't let me become a Padawan because I was too old. I asked him for a chance to show them what I had been training nearly my entire life for, and he gave me that chance. I accompanied him on a mission, and after helping him succeed in that mission, he decided that he would take me on as his Padawan himself, despite what the Council would have said. And the rest is history really."

The three troopers had all forgotten about their food, their full attention on their general as she told them her story. Starlighter's jaw was hanging open. He shut his mouth then whistled appreciatively.

"Wow. That's a complete understatement to say that your training was unorthodox. I've never heard of anything like that happening to a Jedi. That's incredible." Crossfire shook his head in irritation.

"That's completely idiotic of parents to abandon their child the same day they're born. But I suppose they got the raw end of the deal. You're a great person Judy, and I'm very sorry for your supposed parents, since they gave up their chance to get to know you." The Knight grinned sadly at her friend.

She praised, "Thanks Crossfire. That's very nice of you to say so." Geo stared at her with a newfound appreciation in his eyes.

"No wonder you try so hard to treat us like family. By what I've gathered from your story, you must have a friend or family member on nearly every planet in the galaxy."

"I don't know about that, but I do have a lot of friends and family. Well… if we do include you guys in the mix, then I guess I pretty much do have at least some family members on nearly every planet."

Her captain noted, "I believe we would all be honored if you included us in your family." His brothers both nodded in agreement.

"Definitely."

"No doubt." The Jedi's grin grew to a bright smile.

"All right then. Welcome to the family guys." Her troops all chuckled and thanked her. Suddenly, Geo was struck with an idea.

"Hey. Why don't we use that as the company's name?"

"Use what?" Crossfire asked.

"We're all family now, so why don't we use the Mando'a word for family as the company's name. We could be Aliit Company." He took a moment to let the suggestion sink in. "What do you think?" The ordinances specialist and medic beamed.

"Sounds great!" they simultaneously agreed. The three looked to their general for her confirmation. Her brown eyes seemed to glow happily as she giggled.

"That's perfect Geo, but let's not leave your brothers out of the decision-making process." The Knight then stood up and called out to those in the mess hall. "Excuse me everyone." She waited a moment for her troopers to give her their attention. "I apologize for interrupting your meals, but Geo here has just come up with a suggestion for the company's name, and I want to know what you all think of it." They all remained silent as they waited for her to tell them the suggestion. "What do you guys think about being called 'Aliit Company'?" The mess suddenly erupted into approvingly chatter and a few cheers here and there.

"Sounds perfect Judy!" CT-13-1208 remarked.

"We love it!" CT-03-0205 added.

"All right then," she noted. "Spread the word to your brothers. See what they think, or see if they have any other suggestions. If everyone likes it, then that's what we'll be called. If anyone has any other ideas, we'll all figure it out together to decide on the company's name. Sorry again for interrupting, and thank you for your time." She sat back down at the table, the cafeteria buzzing with renewed chatter. "If the reaction to the name is the same with everyone else as it was with everyone here, you may have come up with the company's name in record time Geo." He chuckled.

"I can't take full credit. You gave me the idea." The four finished up their meals and headed around the cruiser to finish the tour that Judy left off on before dinner. Soon after the exploration was completed, the _DEVOTION _powered up and began its journey off of Coruscant.


End file.
